Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: We need to find ways to scale this up

[marvin berkowitz (marvinb780]

Thanks Sharon for all info.   Marvin 

Sent from my iPhone

> On Mar 24, 2022, at 9:39 AM, Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l 
> [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> 
>> 
>> On Mar 24, 2022, at 11:10 AM, Marvin Berkowitz via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l 
>> [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
>> 
>> I fully agree with issues of large buy-in being a problem for most 
>> seniors.Consequently, I am looking for rental.  If anybody has info, please 
>> send on to me.
> 
> There is a book comparing a rental cohousing community in Japan and an 
> ownership model in Canada called "Collaborative Happiness: Building the Good 
> Life in Urban Cohousing Communities" by Catherine Kingfisher. Kingfisher is 
> an anthropologist who studied these two communities over a 6 year period, 
> living in each one and arranging for a small group from each community to 
> visit the other. (I’m writing a review for Communities Magazine.) It is 
> published by a small academic publisher, unfortunately, so it is relatively 
> expensive — $35 for the Kindle edition. It is part of a series of 7 books on 
> Life, Culture, and Aging: Global Transformations.
> 
> https://amzn.to/3usXbvJ
> 
> In Japan cohousing is called Collective Housing. Kankanmori Collective 
> Housing is in Tokyo. It occupies the 2nd and 3rd floors of a 12 storey 
> building. It includes 29 apartments ranging from 269-650 SF. (NOTE THE 
> SIZES.) The space was designed and the community formed by a group of 
> founders working with the Japanese founder of cohousing, architect Ikuko 
> Koyabe. 
> 
> All units open onto common space and the residents hang out in the common 
> space commonly. It isn’t a “destination" but a place to be. It is occupied at 
> all time except for mornings just after everyone has gone to work.
> 
> Rental contracts are for 3 years with unlimited renewals. All renters are 
> required to participate in the community—and they have checklists and 
> committees that coordinate this. Cooking in rotation is required, everyone is 
> expected to serve on 2 committees, and there are a few other requirements. 
> Everyone comes to meetings. Partly because the Japanese culture is 
> characterized by precision, there are very detailed orientation materials so 
> new residents can acclimate very quickly. They have also developed procedures 
> for many things so they are always done the same way, making it easier for 
> new residents to get involved and understand what to do. There is little or 
> no friction from integrating new residents.
> 
> They have approximately twice the number of move-ins as the Quayside, the 
> community in Canada. The rental community has an average of 4 turnovers per 
> year, but they also have a very strong revisiting rate. Many people come back 
> for holidays or just to visit.
> 
> I haven’t studied the financing closely but the community is fully in charge 
> of the budget and the use of the space as ownership communities in the US. 
> Other countries have very different subsidy schemes and property definitions 
> so it is not clear if they are subsidized to any extent but the population 
> demographics in terms of occupations and household sizes are the same as in 
> US cohousing. The community does offer some discounts for families, but the 
> community makes these decisions, not the state.
> 
> The issue with rentals is the same with ownership — someone has to have the 
> money up front. The building has to be built before anyone can pay to live in 
> it.  It might, however, be easier to get HUD support for a rental community, 
> and Kankanmori would be a good example. The have been very successful since 
> 2003. 
> 
> People have been very dubious of rental cohousing in the US so it is a great 
> step forward to have this book and this model. The key seems to be that the 
> building is not “government owned or governed.” The community is self 
> governing and self supporting (so far as I can understand).
> 
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
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